Samsung Galaxy Note 5: Australian Pricing And Release Date [Updated]

Samsung’s new darling children are here in Australia! The Galaxy Note 5 is large, in charge and shipping to Aussies next month. Here’s what you’ll pay.

Also: Samsung GS6 Edge+: Australian Pricing And Release Date

The Note 5 is still exceptionally powerful, but the best thing about the Note 5 is still the amazing screen.

The stunning 5.7-inch 2560×1440 Quad HD Super AMOLED display on the Note 5 is essentially the same as the one on the Galaxy Note 4, but colour reproduction appears to have improved substantially based on an unscientific side-by-side comparison. If you have a two-year-old phone like me, the screen on the Galaxy Note 5 will more than likely be a substantial upgrade, especially if you read a lot on your phone. I was practically drooling over the 518ppi display.

The Galaxy Note 5 comes with Samsung’s homebrew Exynos octa-core processor and 4GB of RAM. It loses expandable memory slots, but services like Google Photos and Dropbox make that less likely to be a dealbreaker these days. Samsung is also softening the blow with the offer of 100GB of free storage on Microsoft OneDrive.

The all-important S-Pen has also been redesigned and improved for multitasking on the Galaxy Note 5 including a more premium design, a new method of popping out the S-Pen from the chassis with a single click, the ability to jot down ideas without turning the screen on, instant access to all of the S-Pen’s tools from any screen at any time via Air Command, and the ability to capture complete web pages in one image using Scroll Capture.

With the redesigned stylus comes new ways to use it. The Galaxy Note 5 brings new customisation options to the Air Command menu for enhanced productivity. You can add three new shortcuts to whatever apps you choose, and they can be third-party apps, not just Samsung apps. The Note 5 and S6 Edge+ are also the first phones in Australia to support the new Category 9 4G standard — the fastest mobile network standard ever, capable of up to 450Mbps download speeds.

So how much is it?

Australia will only get the one variant of storage when it comes to the Note 5. The 32GB version in both black sapphire and gold platinum will go on sale for $1099 outright. The Note 5 goes up for pre-order from 4pm today, and will go on sale to the public on 4 September. Telstra will also be bringing the Note 5 to market with an outright price, so we’ll update you with those prices as soon as we get them. We’ll also have carrier pricing for both phones as soon as it’s released by Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and anyone else, so stay tuned.

If you want more storage, you’ll need to check out the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, which is shipping in both 32GB and 64GB options.

Here’s the difference between the two:

Galaxy S6 Edge+ Galaxy Note 5
OS Android 5.1 (Lollipop) Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
Dimensions 154.4mm x 75.8mm x 6.9mm 153.2mm x 76.1mm x 7.6mm
Weight 153g 171g
CPU Exynos octa-core (2.1GHz quad + 1.5GHz quad) Exynos octa-core (2.1GHz quad + 1.5GHz quad)
Memory 4GB RAM, 32GB/64GB (non-expandable) 4GB RAM, 32GB/64GB (non-expandable)
Display 5.7-inch dual-edge Quad HD Super AMOLED 5.7-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED
Resolution 2560 x 1440 (518ppi) 2560 x 1440 (518ppi)
Camera 16MP rear, 5MP front 16MP rear, 5MP front
Battery 3000mAh (non-removable) 3000mAh (non-removable)

Are you keen on the Note 5? Tell us why or why not in the comments!

Elly Hart also contributed to this article.

Update: Optus now has its pricing and release info out for both the Note 5 and S6 Edge+. Come 4PM today, you’ll be able to preorder the S6 Edge+ on Optus here and the Note 5 on Optus here, and in Optus stores from 9am tomorrow, 19 August. Both phones will be available in store as 32GB variants.

The Note 5 will cost you a minimum $65 per month on the Optus My Plan Plus $40 and 500MB data (with $25 handset monthly repayment option), with different plan options all the way up to $100 for the My Plan Plus $100 and 10GB data (with $0 MRO). The S6 Edge+ starts at $70 per month on the My Plan Plus $40 (with $30 handset MRO) up to $104 for the My Plan Plus $100 (with $4 MRO).

Optus’ plans:



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